Wish you were here!

Yesterday, we visited the “Postcards Dialogue” exhibition at the Casa Amarilla in Arrecife.

Now that you can send a selfie instantly with a few clicks, the custom of sending picture postcards from your holidays is dying out rapidly. But the current exhibition at the Casa Amarilla in Arrecife celebrates the heyday of the Spanish postcard.

The exhibition is based on two collections and features scores of postcards from Spanish resorts such as Benidorm, Torremolinos, Alicante and the Canaries, including a handful of examples from Lanzarote.

It addresses the social aspect of the postcard and its role as a souvenir; the way natural and artificial framing is used; how local scenes and traditions were idealised in postcards, and the vivid saturated colours that postcards used. There are witty nods to the carousel-like postcard stands that used to be seen on the streets of every resort and even a section devoted to the habit of writing “our apartment” with an arrow on the front of postcards.

It’s a likable and colourful exhibition, well worth a look if you’re in the capital.

Postcards Dialogue is at the Casa Amarilla on Arrecife’s main shopping street, Calle Real until July 20th. (Mon-Fri 10 am-2 pm & 2.30-6 pm, Saturdays 10 am -2 pm). Admittance is free.